Review of The Anonymous People (2013) by Presence G — 11 Apr 2014

I found it slightly sluggish & missing A documentary about the stigma of substance abuse and the barriers to recovery .

Sheds light on the largely misunderstood treatment of addiction & substance abuse as a largely untreated & misunderstood disease which unfortunately tends to fall into the hands of the criminal justice system instead of into the more appropriate recovery centers. Favors incarceration over rehabilitation, treatment with on-going support as most other diseases. ; and a populace that, by and large, tends to view dependence as the wages of sin rather than an illness.

Whatâ??s missing, however, is legion. Long on censure and short on specifics, Mr. Williamsâ??s critique tosses out terms like â??genetic predispositionâ?? to addiction without explaining the science. A detailed cost-benefit comparison of prison and treatment would have been welcome, as would at least one countervailing voice amid the forest of talking heads. Instead, we have an actress promoting her addiction memoir and a litany of status quo criticisms that, however accurate, tend to obscure the filmâ??s most valuable segments. Among these are an enlightening overview of the American recovery movement and a perceptive discussion of Alcoholics Anonymous that effectively repositions our understanding of its tradition of anonymity.

Heartfelt but hectoring, â??The Anonymous Peopleâ?? needs more of the folksy pragmatism embodied by the recovery expert John Shinholser. Clearly committed to the sometimes elusive process of recovery in a world that still upholds stigmas.